Music Mondays

This morning, John Marshall High School introduced “Music Mondays,” a ten minute music event to kick off the daily curriculum. An event that came out of Mrs. Kuskey’s Public Relations Class, whose goals include improving school spirit, the music series will spotlight “not only students who sing, but also those who do Poetry Out Loud, Speech and Debate, the Independent Musicians Club, and perform in school plays and musicals,” senior Visakha Turner, Music Mondays Team Leader, shares. Staff supported and approved, Visakha hopes the event will “be a breath of fresh air” to not only Monday mornings, but the entire high school campus culture. The purpose of the project is to “give recognition to students who maybe aren’t athletes, but are talented in other areas.”

Kicking off the creativity was junior Stevie Boles, who has an album coming out in a couple months. An easy pick for the series’ first entertainer, both academically and artistically, Stevie is not only in the P.R. Class, but a local leader in the music scene. When I last wrote about Stevie, I said she “has a long list of places played and trophies won…has a lot of concerts to her credentials…,” and this morning she shined in her acoustic set, playing for her peers in the commons of her high school. You can find and follow Stevie on her social media sites – Facebook and Twitter, and you can see her for yourself at the St. Clairsville, Wheeling, Moundsville, and Pittsburgh Christmas Parades, Saturday, December 10th at the Capitol Theatre, and Saturday, December 17th at the Victoria Theatre, both at 7 P.M.

An idea inspired by seeing a student playing guitar one morning before class has now evolved into an entire series of shows. To audition for Music Mondays, get a sign up sheet in Mrs. Kuskey’s room, 368. You may also be asked to record a clip and e-mail a soundbyte of your song/poem/performance. The next Music Monday will be on November 28th and will feature sophomore student Kailey Filben playing the steel pans.